Page 6 - Eric Seidel News Today

OLDSMAR — For more than two years the BMX Supercross track at the Oldsmar Sports Complex has stood vacant, a towering reminder that even the best-laid plans can go off track. Lingering structural defects with the packed-earth track forced officials to decide whether to abandon the $2.3 million facility or rebuild it. The Oldsmar City Council agreed last month it was more important to keep the track, unanimously approving a design-build agreement with Tarpon Springs-based J. Kokolakis Contr...

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources cautioned Wisconsin’s 611 municipal water systems Wednesday to take steps to secure their computerized control systems, including installing firewalls and using strong passwords.

Authorities are still searching for the suspect who breached the system at the Bruce T. Haddock Water Treatment Plant in Oldsmar on February 4 using a remote access program.

The intrusion also shows how redundancy and detection can minimize damage and reduce impact to the population.

Origin On Feb. 8, 2021, officials from Florida’s Pinellas County held a news conference in which they announced that “an unlawful intrusion into the city of Oldsmar computer system that [controls] its water treatment plant” had occurred a few days prior on Feb. 5. The intruder was allegedly able to initiate a hundredfold increase in the concentration of a chemical used to balance water pH at a water treatment facility in the gulf coast town of Oldsmar, Florida. As reported by Wired, the a...

A cyber intruder broke into the computer network of the water treatment system of Oldsmar, Fla. and attempted to poison it with lye. News of the attack was made public Monday by officials of Oldsmar, who revealed the attack was foiled by an operator at the facility within minutes of its launch. The Oldsmar plant provides water to businesses and about 15,000 residents.

Oldsmar’s water supply attack is a warning, experts say. It could’ve been worse. Instead of causing widespread injury or loss of life, the attack could stand as a huge red flag marking quietly pervasive flaws in national security.     The Bruce T. Haddock Water Treatment Plant is seen Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021 in Oldsmar. Local and federal authorities are investigating after an attempt Friday to poison the city of Oldsmar’s water supply, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri sa...

Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners, explained Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, during a news conference CBS reported. “It’s dangerous stuff,” said Gualtieri.

Florida water treatment facility hack used a dormant remote access software, sheriff says CNN 2/10/2021 By Alex Marquardt, Eric Levenson and Amir Tal, CNN © Pinellas County Sheriffs Office On Monday, February 8, 2021, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri gave a press conference surrounding the unlawful intrusion to the City of Oldsmars water treatment system. He was joined by Mayor Eric Seidel and City Manager Al Braithwaite. A hacker who last week tried to poison a Florida citys water su...

Hack exposes vulnerability of cash-strapped US water plants | 2021/02/10